Cobelfret RoRo SA (CLDN), the Luxembourg- based Ro-Ro company, has signed a contract with Croatian shipbuilder Uljanik for the construction of two Ro-Ro vessels. The delivery of the 211m long and 32m wide vessels, which will have a capacity of 5,500 lane metres, is scheduled for 2018.

The new 17 knot vessels will be designed for transporting wheeled cargoes, such as trucks, cars and semi-trailer trucks. CldN RoRo SA previously said that it placed firm orders for two 8,000 lane metre RoRo vessels, with a length of 235m, adding that it had commenced an ambitious expansion program which would include orders for up to 12 new vessels.

These ships include a more flexible and higher stowage factor, an ING ready class notation and an expected generated additional 70% capacity over the next four years. In September 2015, the company revealed plans to order more Ro-Ro vessels ranging between 4,700lm and 8,000 lane metres across various yards in Europe and in the Far East. CldN RoRo presently operates a fleet of 24 vessels between the ports of Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, London, Killingholme, Dublin, Gothenburg, Esbjerg and Porto.

The first vessels scheduled for delivery under the company’s expansion plans are the 8,000 lane metre Hyundai Mipo vessels, due to deliver from third-quarter 2017. CldN has also started a new service between Hirtshals, Denmark and the Port of Gothenburg in Sweden for imports targeting improved freight transport between Sweden, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe islands. The once a week schedule brings the Hirtshals call into the existing Zeebrugge-Gothenburg sailing.

Hirtshals has regular calls from the major Norwegian freight hubs in Kristiansand, Larvik, Bergen, Langesund and Stavanger, along with the ports of Seyðisfjörður in Iceland and Torshavn in the Faroe Islands. On arrival in Hirtshals, freight from these ports can be reloaded for onward transport to the Port of Gothenburg. CldN’s service between Zeebrugge and Gothenburg comprises five departures per week, arriving in Gothenburg on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday and Monday. CldN commenced Europe-UK services in December 1974 and has steadily expanded its geographical presence into new markets, including Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Portugal in recent years.